We had that a few years ago with Zlatan. That's one of those things you can't predict just the way player contracts happen. I much prefer the approach Garber and MLS has taken. Slow and steady, and as organically as its format would allow. If you expand quickly it can collapse just as quickly. Also, ebbs and flows of popularity are bound to happen. As a NASCAR fan I've been watching that happen. NASCAR was at the peak of its popularity in the 2000's and started to decline at the end of that decade, its been declining ever since but from what I can tell its plateaued. Also, as a fan from a non-team Market, MLS 2.0 with Beckham also ushered in the national audience in the first place. It actually allowed me (a fan in a non-MLS team market) to actually watch the games. Sure "casuals" were quickly turned off but those are fickle anyway. I don't need fast growth, I much prefer stability. Growth will come over time, as we've shown. So many MLS fans are completely unrealistic, they want the pro/rel English audience instantly, yesterday. There is just no reaching people who honestly think like that.
The problem is not Americans. The mega billionaires that own these teams don’t really have any national loyalties anymore. They live in a trans-national reality where the only drivers are profit margins and tax rates. They are all dazzled by the idea of getting more streams of Chinese dollars flowing to their bottom lines, and they can think of little else.
Real Madrid and their President was indeed one of the biggest drivers and continues to push for the league. He deserves massive blame. And yes, almost all of the billionaire owners are likely greedy fxxxs. But to be fair the other major driver of SL formation was the American Man U Vice Chairman Ed Woodward and the American owners, the Glazer family. Woodward was a former merger and acquisitions investment banker for JP Morgan before he got put in charge of Man U's financials, and right hand man for the Glazers. And where did the funds come from to make the launch of ESL feasible? You guessed it - JP Morgan hedge funds. So I completely understand a lot of the blame being directed toward the US banker investment approach to soccer when you have the ruthless money first approaches of Woodward and the Glazers. It doesn't help that Man U is has made it clear that they are about 6th place in Glazers interests. As I understand it Liverpool's American buyers also extracted money and saddled them with massive debt? May be wrong about that.
Florentino Perez at RM, Joan Laporta at Barca and Andrea Agnelli at Juventus haven't thrown in the towel yet, they are determined to "save football"!
I have come to the painful realization that I have no choice but to boycott the World Cup in Qatar. It’s abhorrent how the whole Qatar workers have been treated not to mention the dubious decision in the first place. I’m much more of a realist than an idealist so the greed and neglect are expected from FIFA and so it pains me even more that it has come to this. I doubt anyone will notice the absence of my $$$ and viewership, but I feel like FIFA has left me no choice.
MLS specifically (I'm not speaking for the rest of the region) has more growth potential than any league on the planet; more than Liga MX by far due to a variety of circumstances. This isn't huckstering, but by several measures MLS is reaching par with LigaMX (beating them in regional competitions, competing for similar players etc) and its barely on national TV. MLS is an immature league; it has lots more potential to grow in size and status, and the brand value and recognition of its member clubs is only going to expand. Which would you bet on becoming a top-recognized global brand first? Club America or LA Galaxy (or LAFC, or Atlanta United or Inter Miami). And no disrespect is meant to Liga MX or the storied clubs from that league, but they are probably not going to get much more popular and well-known than they already are. Having said all that, I've become agnostic about MLS / US becoming a top soccer nation. I'm not saying I'd be for the SuperLeague; I think something like that would do a lot of practical and "moral" damage to the game as we recognize it today. (I also feel even if foiled in this round, something similar is inevitable. As skydog says, the owners are greedy !@#$s). At the same time, I think that damage would create a vacuum that MLS could be uniquely positioned to fill. If there was some circumstance that splintered the European monopsony on top talent, the US would be one of the top places to attract that talent.
I think MPN nailed it - MLS has more growth potential than just about any other league in the world. But sometimes you need to be careful what you wish for... the more money you can make on a product, the more interference you will see...
Every year it seems I drink the MLS CCL koolaide. I see parity in the initial games only to see MLS teams start falling apart the closer we get to a final. This past week was no different. 5 MLS reps and now it looks like the only one with a strong chance to survive and move on with any sort of dignity will be Philly and that only by virtue of having had ATL as an opponent and looking like they are having problems. Toronto is toast. Columbus may get by but its gonna be a tall order. I don't even know what that was with Portland and that mess of a match with America. Timbers should have had at least 2 people red-carded and that last second Pk call was "miraculous.'' That ref must be a Portland fan. In a way I do feel good that MLS does put up a fight and are usually in the mix up to a point. Being in pre-season or just about does cast a long shadow on our chances when other leagues are midway through their seasons and in top form.
The guy should get two red cards - one red for simulation and another red for doing such a poor job of it. In fact I think leagues should start giving out Futbol Razzie awards. For example, in CCL after each round fans would view and vote on lowlight clips of the worst faked injuries of that round. Winners (Losers?) from each round would go to the CCL Razzie Finals. The Finals winner would be crowned “CCL’s Worst Ambassador of Futbol”, handed a plaque made of bandages and splints and Magic Spray, formally banned from the next year’s CCL and then shoved off the podium to see how he handles a real injury. Who’s with me? Think of all the free publicity CCL would get from the viral clips alone!
This has been part and parcel of regional tournaments for time immemorial. It is a tradition! This is CONCACAF...
Man Utd fans protest at OT Angry Manchester United fans STORM onto the pitch at Old Trafford | Daily Mail Online
Did anyone catch the Denmark/Finland game? What happened to Eriksen was horrible. I hope he recovers fully, and I hope we see him play again in the future. hug your loved ones today
He's conscious at the hospital and is in recovery. It was scary watching him stumble and collapse. Props to all quick response from all involved.
Simon Kjaer the hero ALVISE CAGNAZZO: Euro 2020 already has its hero in Simon Kjaer, after Christian Eriksen incident | Daily Mail Online
Hope he’s ok. Many moons ago I was at a Duke soccer game and the ref fell face down while in the middle of the field. It happened so quickly that for a second some thought he was mocking a player who had just dived in the same way. It was a heart attack but fortunately paramedics arrived within a few minutes but it took awhile to revive him. Never has a crowd been so silent for so long as this resuscitation was going on.
It was hard watching Eriksen laying motionless on the field like that. It seemed like his eyes were wide open, but was unconscious. Tough all around. Kudos to the medical staff and other staff who assisted. Hope for a full recovery.
Well, we know it was cardiac arrest and that Eriksen, after some quick CPR, woke up straight away after the first attempt use of a defibrillator. We have now also been told by NT coach Kasper Hjulmand that Eriksen actually watched the last 10 minutes of the game at Kingdom Hospital, so it do not really imply an underlying heart problem as such, at least not according to some Danish specialists, but obviously further tests will show ... nor not show at all, if it was a one-off freak accident caused by dehydration, low blood sugar and Hypokalemia or something like that. But he has released this picture, showing that he is doing fine.
Heart electrical system malfunction. The exact reason defibrillators need to be in all public spaces. Unlike a blockage this life threatening event can be fixed by any lay person if he/she has access to a defib machine.
The Mexican Football Federation are considering forcing the women’s team to serve out part of the men’s team ban for fans using homophobic slurs. Words fail at how outrageous this is. I hope FIFA ignores their loophole shenanigans and imposes a further ban for the sheer misogyny of floating this idea. https://www.espn.com/soccer/mexico-...punishment-for-anti-gay-chant-from-mens-games